Reddit reviews Grateful Dead Gear: The Band's Instruments, Sound Systems and Recording Sessions From 1965 to 1995

They were pioneers at many levels as far as recording and live sound. not only in the world of monitoring, but also passive/active noise reduction, wireless, in-ear, and super large and super small PA systems. Ron Wickersham pioneered the first multi-track live recoding console for them. They also employed some of the most brilliant electronic minds for instrument builds. If you do some searching you will find they were way ahead of the curve from a technological standpoint. Check out Grateful Dead Gear by Blair Jackson for a great look at their equipment and innovation.

This book would probably be of some help. Honestly there are a lot things they did that would be tough to implement or understand.

https://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Dead-Gear-Instruments-Recording/dp/0879308931

I look at John Kadlecik's rig and think if you understand the ending results, there are a number of ways to get there. I mean, he uses a solid state power amp, (not sure about preamp stuff), a synthesizer, a number of pedals, four different guitars and he can make any sound he wants. They all seem to sound the same, or capable of producing essentially all the same tones. I'm going off on a tangent. End of story, he might be someone to try and get in touch with.

https://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Dead-Gear-Instruments-Recording/dp/0879308931

this book is totally well done, thick, and all gear driven it's what you are looking for.

Blair Jackson wrote a book called Grateful Dead gear, has some nice photos and reference material:

http://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Dead-Gear-Instruments-Recording/dp/0879308931/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395921618&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=greful+dead+gear

http://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Dead-Gear-Instruments-Recording/dp/0879308931